(201) Magazine Blogs

Thursday, July 26, 2012

The Rangers today avoided arbitration with Anton Stralman, set for July 31, when the defenseman agreed to a new, two-year deal today worth a reported $3.4 million.

Don’t have the details yet on the contract figure but he signed a one-year deal worth $900,000 with the Rangers last season (pro-rated since he didn’t join the team until November). A raise would be expected off that figure.

In terms of restricted free agents, the Rangers have defenseman Michael Del Zotto remaining. Those sides are working toward a new agreement and Del Zotto is not eligible for arbitration.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Rick Nash, two days after his blockbuster trade to the Rangers from the Blue Jackets, was the guest instructor at the Rangers’ youth hockey camp this afternoon at the team’s training facility in Greenburgh, N.Y.

Prior to that, he met the New York media in two waves - bulky television cameras first and bulky sports writers like me afterwards.

Nash was in the far corner of the Rangers’ dressing room, in Brandon Dubinsky’s old stall, with three Rangers’ jerseys - heritage, home blue and road white - behind him. Nash seemed relaxed and at ease with his surroundings, even if he’s never really spent much time previously in New York. He is a big-city guy, though, having grown up in the Toronto area. He’ll spend the next couple of days in the New York City area, doing some househunting and getting to meet some of his new teammates.

Among his comments today:
- The thought of playing in a big market does not intimidate him one bit since he grew up in Toronto and those are his expectations. He also believes his experience playing for Team Canada in the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver will give him a taste of what the daily pressure will be like a big market.
- He was disappointed the Blue Jackets were unable to trade him prior to the Feb. 27 trade deadline.
- Yes, he’s heard about coach John Tortorella’s training-camp conditioning skates.
- He has a positive impression about his new coach, both from what he’s been told from former Ranger Vinny Prospal and after his first discussion with Tortorella.
- He has played both left and right wing and said he really has no preference.
- The thought of playing on a line with Brad Richards and Marian Gaborik excites him.

Today at the MSG Training Center, newly-acquired Rick Nash met with the media. Check back for a post on what Nash had to say…
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Monday, July 23, 2012

Glen Sather and Rick Nash just conducted a conference call to talk about the deal that brought Nash, minor-league defenseman Steven Delisle and a conditional third-round pick in 2013 to the Rangers for Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov, Tim Erixon and a first-round pick in 2013.

Among the bullet-points
- Sather would not discuss how significantly different the deal he made today was from the one that Columbus GM Scott Howson was initially looking for or how that trade evolved since February. He did say he thought it was a “fair trade” for both sides and that the money exchanged was a “wash.”
- Sather would not talk about Shane Doan specifically or comment about Doan’s visit to the Rangers on Friday but said adding Nash does not “eliminate the opportunity to try and pursue someone else at this stage.”
- Sather said Marian Gaborik’s injury did not heighten the Rangers desire to acquire Nash. He added the Flyers’ offer sheet to restricted free agent Shea Weber had nothing to do with the Nash deal
- Nash said the trade is a relief for him and that he’s felt in limbo. He’s looking forward to being part of the Rangers and what’s going on with the team.
- Nash said the genesis of the deal came after a discussion with Howson last season in which the GM indicated the Blue Jackets had to rebuild - again. Nash said moving him would help the rebuild and his career.
- Nash said playing at the Garden in February in the midst of the trade speculation was mentally draining.

First thoughts: The Rangers certainly benefited in this game of chicken with Columbus GM Scott Howson, who had to trade his superstar captain but would have done better to do it at the trade deadline for more return. Howson’s declaration then that he made no apology of seeking a lot for Nash seems kind of silly today.

Second thoughts: Nash is going to look good on Brad Richards’ wing, quite possibly with Chris Kreider on the other side. Nash is best known as a left wing but he can play either side. When Marian Gaborik comes back, he’ll likely play on a line with Derek Stepan.

The Rangers have a conference call scheduled for 5:30 with Nash and GM Glen Sather.

A pursuit that began before the February trade deadline will apparently end today.

The Rangers have reportedly acquired left wing Rick Nash from the Blue Jackets. There’s been no confirmation from the Rangers yet as the Blue Jackets and Rangers have to conduct a trade call with the NHL.

TSN is reporting that there are four pieces going to the Blue Jackets for their captain. It’s believed Brandon Dubinsky, defenseman Tim Erixon, Artem Anisimov and a first-round pick are headed to Columbus.

If that is the case, the Rangers stuck to their guns and have acquired Nash without including Derek Stepan, defenseman Ryan McDonagh or Chris Kreider, players the Blue Jackets asked for repeatedly but the Rangers refused to include.

Nash, 28, had 30 goals and 29 assists in 82 games for the Blue Jackets last season. The first overall pick in the 2002 draft has 289 goals and 258 assists in 674 games over nine seasons. During his tenure with the Blue Jackets, Nash appeared in just four playoff games.

Currently, Nash carries a salary cap hit of $7.8 million through 2018, though that figure may be reduced once a new collective bargaining agreement is reached.

The Rangers needed to bolster their offensive production, especially since Marian Gaborik will likely be out until at least December after surgery on his right shoulder.
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Saturday, July 21, 2012

Shane Doan still isn’t convinced he will leave the Coyotes, the only franchise for which he’s played, but at least he’s listening.

Doan, in town for the NHL/NHLPA talks, spent part of Friday meeting with Rangers’ brass as he begins to entertain other offers.

The general feeling is that Doan, whose No. 1 priority is to remain with the Coyotes, is more interested in remaining in the Western Conference. However, he has ties to both Jim Schoenfeld, his former coach with the Coyotes, and John Tortorella, Schoenfeld’s assistant in Phoenix.

The Red Wings, Sharks, Canucks and Penguins are also reportedly interested in Doan, 35. Meanwhile, he’s holding on as long as he can waiting to see if there an indication of whether the Coyotes’ unsettled ownership situation will be resolved at any point in the near future. Now, it looks like real answers on that front may not come until November. Doan obviously cannot wait that long to make up his mind whether to stay with his franchise of 16 seasons or sign elsewhere.

Doan is still a very productive player and, in my opinion, would fit in nicely in the Rangers’ lineup. Also, from personal experience, I can attest you couldn’t find a better person for a team’s dressing room.
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Friday, July 20, 2012

Forward Casey Wellman, 24, who had nine goals and 13 assists in 31 games for Connecticut (AHL) last season after being acquired from the Wild in the Erik Christensen deal, has been traded to the Panthers for a fifth-round pick in the 2014 draft.

Wellman added four goals and five assists in nine postseason games for the Whale and has four goals and nine assists in 41 NHL games for the Wild.

But, apparently, with the glut of third- and fourth-liners the Rangers have acquired so far this offseason, he didn’t fit into the organization’s plans.

Also, thoughts, prayers and condolences go out to the victims, their families and friends in the Colorado movie theater shooting. One of the victims was aspiring sportscaster and hockey blogger Jessica Ghawi, who wrote under the name of Jessica Redfield and who, by a bizarre coincidence, also was at Toronto’s Eaton Centre on June 2 when a gunman opened fire there. Here’s her account of that awful day.
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Thursday, July 12, 2012

Had a chance to chat via telephone with new Ranger Jeff Halpern, who said he was excited to rejoin John Tortorella after playing 19 games with him behind the bench with the Lightning in 2007-08.

Halpern added he really respected and liked how the Rangers played last season, especially how aggressive they were on the forecheck. He believes the Rangers full-game efforts forced opponents to get away from what they were trying to do. And in chatting about the Rangers-Capitals series, Halpern thought it was a “great series” that could have gone either way.

But he doesn’t discount that 14 physical postseason games wound up affecting the Rangers in their six-game loss to the Devils in the Eastern Conference final.

“If the Rangers had won in six, I don’t think I would have been surprised,” Halpern said of the Devils’ series. “I thought the Washington-New York series was real physical and hard fought and Ottawa was hard fought and physical. Those are 14 tough games. New Jersey got a break (five games in the second round against the Flyers). If they started the playoffs (playing each other), I don’t know if it’s the same result.”

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

The Rangers today agreed to terms with free agent Brandon Segal, a 6-foot-2, 209-pound right wing who will celebrate his 29th birthday tomorrow.

Segal played 10 games for the Lightning last season and has played in 102 NHL games with 11 goals, 11 assists and 83 penalty minutes. He’s also played for the Kings and the Stars.

He’s another AHL depth guy who will compete for an NHL spot and who could be be brought up in case of injury.

Still not the exciting move for a scorer all you Rangers’ fans are anticipating.

Along that front, Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch, who has a done a great job of following the Rick Nash sage, reported today that the list of six teams for which Nash would waive his no-movement clause for were: the Rangers, Bruins, Red Wings, Flyers, Penguins and Sharks.

Of note there is that Nash, from Brampton, Ont., does not have any Canadian teams on his list.

About

ANDREW GROSS covers the New York Rangers for The Record and Herald News, having joined the North Jersey Media Group in November 2007. Gross also covered the Rangers and New York Jets, as well as St. John’s basketball and Army football, for Gannett Newspapers and The Journal News (N.Y.). He graduated from Syracuse University in 1989 with a degree in newspaper journalism.